That is, right up until you put on someone else’s shoes.

In me and my friends’ house we take off our shoes at the door. One year, I had to run back out to the car and I quickly, accidentally, slipped on someone else’s shoes. It was the right color; had the right look; even matched my outfit—all the shoes looked similar.

But it slipped on a bit too easily; it was a bit too big; a bit too warm. I discovered that although I could easily put them on, walking in them was extremely disconcerting.

And it makes me think, if I can’t walk far in the shoes of someone I’ve known for a while, how much harder is it for me to walk in the shoes of a person far removed. Say, walking in the shoes of a farmer—when I’ve never been one.

Indeed, at what point would I discover that I’m wearing a farmer’s shoes?

Then, I think, what if I separated those shoes by a couple of thousand years. I mean, what about walking in the shoes of a Corinthian on his way to one of the local temples for a party? It’d be obvious if I found myself in his shoes, but if they were sitting at my front step, would I know it when I put them on?

I think that’s part of the problem when we consider things like idolatry. Shoes that slip on a bit too easily, really belong to some other era, but we don’t know that they’re readily available on our front step.

In today’s world, idolatry has gone through a lot—including a couple thousand years of Church history. We’ve gotten to a point where we do funny things with idolatry and wind up not knowing how to deal with the real thing when we see it. Like an expensive sneaker on a shelf, we have ideas about it but we don’t think that it’s readily accessible to us.

I mean, today, if I say “idolatry” folk either (narrowly) imagines some ancient heathen bowing in front of a candle-lit statue while sacrificing a pig; or they expand the meaning to cover obsession with anything other than God: like Monday Night Football or the World Cup. Idolatry winds up either not really happening today—part of a long dead, pre-scientific world—or happening every day and in every way when you (or I) look at a chocolate bar without thinking about the Lord.

As such, when our world starts looking more like the world of the two thousand year old Corinthian, we don’t really address it for what it is. Our Christian language kicks in and we obscure the issue and ignore the reality of what Paul was dealing with in Corinth. We walk around in the shoes of a first century Corinthian and interpret it all with Romans 14 freedom: horrifying error.

Paul, and that ancient Corinthian, was not wearing our shoes. We’re walking around in their shoes and, horrifying mistake, we don’t know it. So these next few posts will deal directly with 1 Corinthians 8-10.

Technorati Tags: 1 Corinthians 8-10, idolatry

• Responding to common (and frankly the weakest) arguments for the use of icons.
• Examining and responding to the strongest argument in support of the use of icons: the Christological Argument
• Regarding the Second Commandment (“You shall not make any graven images”) and the use of Icons.
• Blegging for books on Worship and Respect.

Now ignoring several serious things I could have responded to but felt it would be repeating my post, his comments did raise several questions in my mind about the natures of worship and veneration. What is worship? How was worship accomplished? Why is worship actually worship? Is worship ever defined in Scripture? What is veneration? How is veneration accomplished? Why is veneration actually veneration? Is veneration ever defined in Scripture? How is worship not veneration and vice versa?

I think it takes some examination, not as a continuation of my dealing with icons, but because the questions have merit on their own.

Since the topic is so potentially tremendously broad, I know there is a vast amount of ink and paper devoted to the spectrum it encompasses, so I ask you (small amount of readers) if there is any material you’ve come across that I should have in my must-read list. Please, if possible, give me a small overview of the thrust of the material’s position.

Technorati Tags: veneration, worship

ABSTRACT: In understanding how discipleship to Jesus Christ works, a major issue is how he automatically presents himself to our minds. It is characteristic of most 20th century Christians that he does not automatically come to mind as one of great intellectual power: as Lord of universities and research institutes, of the creative disciplines and scholarship. The Gospel accounts of how he actually worked, however, challenge this intellectually marginal image of him and help us to see him at home in the best of academic and scholarly settings of today, where many of us are called to be his apprentices.

Matthew

Mark

Luke

Logical and Rhetorical Forms Index

Figures of Reasoning

A Fortiori — “To the stronger,” or “even more so. ” We are bound to accept an a fortiori claim because of our prior acceptance of a weaker application of the same reasoning or truth.

Aetiologia — A figure of reasoning by which one attributes a cause for a statement or claim made.

Anthypophora — A figure of reasoning in which one asks and then immediately answers one’s own questions.

Appeal to Evidence

Anacephalaeosis — A recapitulation of the facts.

Apophasis — The rejection of several reasons why a thing should or should not be done and affirming a single one, considered most valid.

Argument from Analogy

Expeditio — After enumerating all possibilities by which something could have occurred, the speaker eliminates all but one.

False Dilemma

Non-contradiction

Sorites — A chain of claims and reasons which build upon one another. Concatenated enthymemes.

Figures of Ethos

Anamnesis — Calling to memory past matters. More specifically, citing a past author from memory. Anamnesis helps to establish ethos, since it conveys the idea that the speaker is knowledgeable of the received wisdom from the past.

Antithesis

Erotema

Procatalepsis

Technorati Tags: argument, logic

As a holy nation they figured that they could be priests with the righteous status that Aaron had.

We all remember the story: the ground swallowed Korah and his ilk up but we forget the Fire.

The 250 men had taken up censers, with their own fire and incense and gathered at the door of the tabernacle against Moses and Aaron. This rebellion was not only against God’s Apostle and High Priest but it was man in his self-righteousness raising his fist to God’s face.

Moses tells the people (yes including Korah’s family) to step back from the tents of the wicked crowds and tells the congregation that if these folk die like regular folk then no big deal—but if its spectacular then you know I didn’t have anything to do with it. If the Lord for instance, makes the ground eat them up then you’ll know.

At that moment the ground opened up and swallowed men alive—but that wasn’t the only thing that happened. Numbers 16:35 says that fire came from the Lord.

A beam of fire coming from the tabernacle and splitting and consuming 250 men with censers of incense.

But then, as if that isn’t enough of a reminder, God tells Eleazer to take the censers, hammer them out and make them plates to cover the altar. Plates and symbols of rebellion hammered out and hammered onto the altar so that anytime a person would come offer their sacrifice they would see those plates—nailed to the altar.

My thoughts flew through time to the cross where I see the Apostle and High Priest of my confession being nailed to a tree. But what put Him on that tree? Yes the Romans and the Jews. Yes God ultimately purposed to do this.

But it was my part in humanity’s rebellion that put Him on that tree. As I take the bread and the cup I can see the plates of my rebellion, ugly things, ruinous things, on Him. As I take the bread and the cup I am reminded that my God, an all consuming fire, purposed to bruise Him and lay our iniquities on Him. We could have easily been swallowed by the pit or consumed by His wrath but in His love, He was patient and provided a solution for our good and ultimately reflecting His loving glory.

It’s no wonder that the Sons of Korah would go off and write something like Psalm 117, part of the Jewish Hallel.

“Praise the Lord all you people and all you nations; the merciful loyal faithful kindness of the Lord is great towards us and the truth of the Lord endures forever!”

Technorati Tags: altar, korah, numbers